A graffiti artist and break dancing hip hop crews take over at Norwich Theatre Royal

The curtain has gone up on a brand new piece of graffiti art in Norwich city centre.

It comes following the announcement of a new 'gritty and urban' play Burying Your Brother In The Pavement, due to hit the stage at Norwich Theatre Royal later this month.

Graffiti artist Tony Allen painted the piece which will help to form part of the backdrop for the new play. It tells the story of Tom, whose brother Luke dies suddenly, and follows his journey from the funeral to the council estate where his sibling died.

Mr Allen said: 'They wanted it to be urban and it needed to look like something that would actually be painted on the street rather than something that had been especially created for a theatre production.'

The finished piece took around three hours to create and will form part play's set which is being performed by the theatre's youth company from March 30 to April 1.

Cast member Emily Palmer said: 'The play itself is quite gritty and urban, and the graffiti really fits into that.'

Mr Allen is hoping people across the region will join him when he returns to the theatre on Saturday May 13.

That evening, it hosts the international hip hop festival Breakin' Convention which will see three hip hop crews from East Anglia perform alongside some of the biggest global names in the music world.

During the afternoon pre-show, Mr Allen will be creating a huge piece of graffiti art at the theatre and is encouraging people to join him.

'We want people to come along and have a go,' he said. 'We will have the gloves and the masks and we want to encourage people to try it out.'

- Burying Your Brother in the Pavement runs from March 30 to April 1 at 8pm at Stage Two. Tickets are £10, and concessions £8.50. All performances are captioned

- Breakin' Convention take place on May 13 at 7.30pm. Tickets are £7 to £24. Discounts for Friends.

- To book log onto www.theatreroyalnorwich.co.uk or ring the box office on 01603 630000.